Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Lime Peanut Noodles

The Chef: Liz

The Menu: Lime Peanut Noodles with (Seitan), Kale, and Carrots. Yes, those words are capitalized because this is an actual recipe from the about-to-be-released Vegan Yum Yum cookbook. And yes the seitan is in parentheses because we didn't have any. Liz made a fantastic substitution of tofu, which we eagerly devoured. Of course, no meal at the VNHQ would be complete without a green salad to go along, and Liz came through wth a yummy mix of greens and avocado.

The Goods: First, congrats to Liz on her first turn in the VN kitchen! Today's lunch totally rocked! Next, we just happen to have a couple copies of the book in the office, and we'll be giving one away every day this week! Thanks to everyone who commented yesterday, though sadly there can be only one winner. That winner is Jennidy! Jennidy, send us an email with your name and mailing address, and we'll send your book right out. For today's copy, tell us in the comments: what's the strangest substitution you've ever made, and did it turn out to be a delicious discovery or despicable disaster?

39 comments:

I'm sure I've made tons of subs since my kitchen isn't the best stocked. Once, I needed some sort of frosting for sugar cookies that were a LITTLE bit overdone. I didn't want to trash them, so frosting seemed like an easy fix. Well, I didn't have frosting, so instead I juiced two limes and zested them, then mixed the liquid with powdered sugar. It was REALLY runny, so it kind of did a glaze over the cookie, softening them. it worked out great, surprisingly.

One time I was making a lasagna, for which I usually use at least one green (spinach, broccoli, etc.), but the zucchini that I was going to use was beyond mushy, so all I had left were brussels sprouts. Thinking it would be ok, I threw them into the dish hoping that the tomato sauce would mask their flavor for my guests. Unfortunately, everyone made a sour face after the first bite. I guess not everyone likes brussels sprouts as much as I do!

I was making a bean and cauliflower dip but had run out of cauliflower so I used eggplant instead. Unfortunately, I forgot that raw eggplant tastes bitter and I did not cook it beforehand. So, my dip did not taste yummy at all. :(

Since I make my soymilk at home, I have quite a bit of okara to use. One day, I decided to use the okara from one batch of milk to replace the chick peas in the Chickpea Cutlets from Veganomicon. It worked so well that it became my standard way to make that recipe. I have no clue, though, if it gives the same results as the original because... well... I have yet to make the Chickpea Cutlets with chick peas!

Though it's not completely strange, I have been substituting agave nectar for both brown and white sugar with great results. Initially I thought the liquid would alter the recipe, but it hasn't so far.

I have also substituted regular sugar when I did not have powdered. Not such great results.

When I first started eating gluten free, I had no idea what to replace small amounts of flour in savoury recipes with (like veggie burgers, etc) - once I turned to corneal - not a good plan! I've since learned that there are innumerable gluten free flours than can be substituted with um, less grainy results. Haha!

Since I was on a diet, I needed to try something to replace the potatoes in a yummy potato salad I was making. I subbed cannelini beans and mashed about half while leaving the other half whole. Turned out WAY better than I expected, and was pretty darn yummy!

I once used ground flax seed (w/water) to substitute for eggs in a breakfast caserole. It turned out to be more soupy than caserole-y. Everyone still ate it though (& enjoyed it!)...it turned out to be a better spread!

I don't eat garlic or onions due to religious reasons, so whenever a recipe calls for them (usually does), I use asafoetida instead. It is an Indian spice, and I was able to fool people into thinking I'd made Garlic bread, when really I'd just mixed some of the spice into butter and spread on toast!

Hmmm...I don't know if it is strange, but I always sub eggplant for mushrooms in recipes, and it almost always comes out fabulously! :) I first tried this with the roasted portobello and chickpea salad in Veganomicon and I couldn't believe how fantastic it tasted with the eggplant! Now I always use eggplant because I'm not a fan of mushrooms, but they are so prevalent in vegan cooking! Now I don't have to miss out!

I once used Arrow Root powder instead of egg substitute in a cookie recipe! It was so sad since it was a white chocolate chip macademia nut cookie and white chocolate chips are not easy to come by. :( The cookie ended up flattening out more, but was still very yummy!

I once made borscht, which called for bouquet garni. I had no clue (at the time) what that was so I used an entire bunch of cilantro. I had to toss out the soup -- the cilantro rendered the entire thing completely inedible!

I was trying to Veganize a truffle recipe that I used to love making. To achieve the thickness I wanted and is usually supplied by the egg yolks, I instead used corn starch & agar-agar. It worked out great and now all I have to do is remeber how much to use.

I'm not sure if this qualifies, but once I went to put cinnamon on my bagel and I accidentally doused it with black pepper. I was in a hurry, so I ate it anyway. It was disgusting, and the very thought of it sent waves of disgust through my body for months afterward. I've since recovered, and can now laugh about it.

I remember making something sweet and needing brown brown sugar and not having any, I used a combination of sugar and molasses and it worked great! I know that I have subbed a few things and had disasters, I think I have blocked them from my memory. ha!

I was trying to Veganize a truffle recipe that I used to love making. To achieve the thickness I wanted and is usually supplied by the egg yolks, I instead used corn starch & agar-agar. It worked out great and now all I have to do is remeber how much to use.

I've been totally coveting this Vegan Yum Yum cook book so I really hope I get it!!!

I was working at a really low paying job and was pretty much living off of pasta because it was cheap and since I hadn't been a vegan for that long, it was easy for me to prepare. I was overworked, underpaid, & exhausted. There was a blizzard and it was freezing outside and all I wanted was some yummy penne with tomato sauce. The only problem was I didn't have any tomato sauce. Or tomatoes. Or olive oil. Or sauce of any kind. It wasn't in my budget. And even if it were, I wasn't about to walk down 5 flights and brave the cold to get some from the store. I was really hungry so I got creative...I added salsa to the pasta. But when I tasted it, it was way too spicy (I really like spicy food but it was too hot) & I knew I needed to sweeten it up with something. But what? The only other things in my fridge were soy milk and orange juice, so I went with the OJ. What may sound disgusting turned out to be an excellent meal! I highly recommend giving it a try sometime.

I also used to substitute steamed green beans for french fries in my work cafeteria. They were only $.67 per serving and I would dip them in ketchup. Healthy, affordable, & fat free! My co-workers thought I was insane.

well, I don't know if i can call up the strangest substitution I've made... but I made a pretty successful sub just this last weekend. I was making the pine nut cream from Veganomicon, but we have a soy-free relative. So I used a combo of lemon juice, So Delicious Coconut Yogurt, and ground up raw cashews all combined in place of silken tofu, and it turned out great! wooo hoo!

I have put a dash of fenugreek powder and tekina in soy cheese in order to give it a cheddery flavor and I have subbed ground salba and toasted wheat germ in place of egg replacers for pancake batter. I also use blackstrap molasses in carob shake in order to get a chocolate flavor. I have used flour and tekina combo or sea moss in sliceable cashew cheese in order to cut down on the amount of agar agar used since it is so expensive.

Years ago, I was making gravy and had no veggie broth left. Rather than using water, which would have been sensible, I watered down some instant coffee. Since I absolutely adore coffee...not bad. But also not good.

I recently made vegan crab cakes, and the recipe called for chopped celery, which I just don't like, no matter how hard I try! I didn't want to miss out on the crunch and mild flavor, though, so I substituted chopped bok choy stems. It worked out really well!

Having run out of tahini, I've made hummus with cashews instead. Just toss whole raw cashews in with the chickpeas. It has a mild, sweet flavor that I have actually come to prefer over the traditional tahini.